


Pause, and Resume

by ohjustdisarmalready



Series: Don't Stop Me [2]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Grief/Mourning, Temporary Character Death, supporting each other through hard times and dumbass teammates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-14
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2019-03-18 02:51:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13672731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohjustdisarmalready/pseuds/ohjustdisarmalready
Summary: Prompt: davenchurch, "I know you're scared"? or if thats not your style, then just more generally, something between merle and davenport (romantic or not, idc) in Don't Stop Me could be really cool?





	Pause, and Resume

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place in cycle 98 of the Stop Me If You've Heard This Before 'verse.

“Merle,” Davenport says, not turning around. “Is it urgent? I’m–”

Merle, in complete disregard to his closed-off body language, his dismissive tone, or basic politeness, collapses on the oversized beds.

The IPRE had only had sizes available for the larger races. It just hadn’t been practical to commission two smaller beds when Gnomes, Halflings and Dwarves made up suck a small percentage of the Institute.

Well, now they make up two sevenths of the whole organization. More, sometimes.

More, right now.

Two fifths.

It’s not even a hostile plane.

Davenport shakes his head.

“Not right now, Merle,” he says.

His bed creaks.

“I know you’re scared,” says Merle.

Davenport stops.

“I’m not scared. That’s ridiculous. There’s nothing threatening on this entire plane.”

Merle waits for a moment and he can feel his old friend’s eyebrows raise.

He holds out for a moment more before he can’t stand it. He turns around.

“Look, two of us are dead. We’re getting closer and closer to getting caught every year. I’m allowed to feel, to feel a little defensive, okay? I’m not scared,” he insists, but Merle looks right through him. Damn him.

“We’ll make it,” is all he says. Davenport shakes his head.

“Will we, though? When we start killing ourselves, will we? What hope is there when we’ve given up on ourselves?” Even as he speaks, he feels the frustration grow and he begins to pace. “It just doesn’t make any damn sense, Merle, I can’t–I can’t even keep us going if the crew doesn’t go with.”

It’s every captain’s worst fear, the crew refusing to follow. What good is he if he can’t lead these people to safety? If he can’t even get them to survive day to day? If they don’t trust him to keep them safe? What  _is_ he without this mission?

A hand is on his shoulder, halting him.

“But you’re not scared,” Merle says wryly, and he glares. His old friend sobers quickly. “I know. We’ll have a hell of a talk with him when he gets back, and Lup is already sorry. But this wasn’t your fault.”

He shrugs Merle’s hand off to resume pacing, but Merle is standing directly in his way.

“Move,” he says. Merle looks around and shrugs.

“I’m good here.”

Davenport lets out a huff of frustration and walks around him. Now he has to pace awkwardly in a semicircle around the immovable oak that is Merle Hitower Highchurch.

“It’s not like being ‘scared’ would do any good anyway,” he snaps, air-quoting viciously. “What the fuck is the use? It doesn’t make me smarter, it doesn’t make me better, it doesn’t tell me what to do–what the fuck is the point of being  _scared_?”

Merle shakes his head. “I know you’re smarter than that.”

Davenport sits on the bed.

“It doesn’t help,” he says. “It just gets in the way of what I need to do.”

“Feelings tend to do that,” Merle agrees, because he’s kind of a dick sometimes.

Davenport slumps. He should have known better than to argue with Merle in the first place. “How are you holding up?”

Merle shrugs.

“I’m scared, too,” he says, quietly, like he wouldn’t in front of anyone else. “Pissed. At myself for not seeing it, at Taako for doing it. That I couldn’t save either of them. But they’re coming back, and it’s not too late to fix this.”

He joins Davenport on the bed. Just sitting side by side, looking at the room. There are maps everywhere. Davenport had always wanted to be an adventurer. Maybe some day, if they survive this.

Merle, his port in a storm, sits next to him in silence for a little while. They each think through what they need to. Deep thoughts, troubling thoughts.

And then, when he feels ready, Davenport hops up.

“Bridge?” he asks, already getting the cards. Merle cracks his shoulders.

“Thought you’d never ask.”

**Author's Note:**

> There's a long-ish fic I really wanna write about a what-if during the stolen century in this 'verse dealing w/ how Taako's relationship with Krav affects the Raven Queen's relationship with him in all of their worlds...and I also kind of want to write a what-if of this 'verse where I change literally two parts of the premise and it consequently becomes a happy fluffy story...but schoolwork...


End file.
